This invention relates to a method and apparatus for handling a jam recovery when using ordered media in a printing system.
A digital printing system with multiple media (e.g., paper) supplies and output destinations may have limited capability in the selection of different output destinations for the blank or printed output pages. For example, a digital printing system may only allow a user to select one output destination per output set for a print job. An output set refers to a group of output pages (e.g., printed output pages), which may be repeated for a single print job. Many digital printing systems generally fail to allow the operator to choose an output destination for individual pages of the output set. The user of the printing system may resort to inefficient, labor-intensive, and slow manual sorting processes to handle the proper grouping or collating of papers for a print job, where individual treatment of one or more output pages in the output set is required. Thus, a need exists for a printing system that supports selection of different output destinations, even for the same execution of a single output set of a print job to reduce printing costs and cycle time.
Some printing systems support special features which allow two output destinations to be used during a single print job. These printing systems typically use one exit (e.g., a top exit) for printing media of their system as a xe2x80x9cpurgexe2x80x9d tray. For print jobs executed on such a printing system, the printing system determines if some of the media loaded in one of the input paper trays is not needed by a current or a successive print job, but must be fed through the system so that the next output set does not improperly use the wrong media. Accordingly, the printing system calculates how many unwanted sheets in the input paper tray must be xe2x80x9cpurgedxe2x80x9d. However, the printing system may lack the flexibility to let a requestor choose when to route a page to the xe2x80x9cpurgexe2x80x9d tray to customize a print job. Finally, many printing systems do not support printing on the pages which are sent to the xe2x80x9cpurgexe2x80x9d tray, further detracting from the ability to tailor a printing job to meet the preferences of a user. Thus, a need exists to enhance a user""s control over the routing of pages within a printer to support a customization of a print job.
Another feature that needs improvement in printing systems is jam recovery systems and methods. A printing system may experience a paper jam in the system somewhere between the input for feeding paper and the exit for the printed document. If ordered media, such as tabs, are used in a print job, jam recovery is particularly problematic. Therefore, a need exists for improved arrangements for jam recovery, particularly when using ordered media.
Additionally, when using ordered media within a print job, there may be instances where it is necessary to separate or dispose of unused portions or sheets of the ordered media. Therefore, there is also a need to provide improved systems and methods of disposing of such unwanted media.
In accordance with the invention, a printing system comprises at least one input source for storing a medium prior to printing or otherwise operating on the medium and a second input source to store at least one set of an ordered media comprising a plurality of sheets having different physical characteristics. A central processing unit stores a graphical representation of the set of ordered media. Upon the occurrence of a jam in the printing system, the central processing unit determines which sheet of the set of ordered media is the correct one to recover to. The central processing unit generates a graphical representation indicating the correct sheet of the set of ordered media to be recovered to and displays the representation on a display for the operator.
Preferably, the system also includes a scanner. The user scans in an image of the set of ordered media. In this manner, the scanned image of the correct sheet of the ordered media to recover to is displayed and, preferably, highlighted on the display.